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The course of life which they adopted on board was as regular as the circumstances of a voyage would allow, and as severe as the rule of a monastic order. From four in the morning till five they used private prayer: from five till seven they read the bible together, carefully comparing it with the writings of the earliest ages, that they might not lean to their own understandings. At seven they breakfasted, and they had public prayers at eight. From nine till twelve John Wesley was employed in learning German, Delamotte pursued his Greek studies, Charles wrote sermons, and Ingham instructed the children: and at twelve they met to give an account to one another of what they had done since their last meeting, and of what they intended to do before their next. They dined about one, and from dinner till four the time was spent in reading to those of whom each had taken especial charge, or in exhorting them severally, as the case might require. There were evening prayers at four, when the second lesson was explained, or the children were catechised and instructed before the congregation. From six to seven each read in his cabin to a few of the passengers. At seven Wesley joined with the Germans in their public service, and Ingham read between the decks to as many as desired to hear. At eight they met again to instruct and exhort. By this time they were pretty well wearied with exhortations and instruction; and between nine and ten they went to bed, where, as Wesley says, neither the waving of the sea, nor the motion of

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the ship, could take away the refreshing sleep which God gave them.

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It was a rough season, their passage was tempestuous; and, during the storm, Wesley felt that he was unfit, because he was unwilling to die. Ashamed of this unwillingness, he reproached himself as if he had no faith, and he admired the impassible tranquillity to which the Moravians had attained. They had evinced that they were delivered from pride, anger, and revenge; those servile offices, which none of the English would perform for the other passengers, they offered themselves to undertake, and would receive no recompense; saying, it was good for their proud hearts, and their Saviour had done more for them. No injury could move their meekness; if they were struck or thrown down, they made no complaint, nor suffered the slightest indication of resentment to appear. Wesley was curious to see whether they were equally delivered from the spirit of fear, and this he had an opportunity of ascertaining. In the midst of the psalm with which they began their service, the sea broke over, split the main-sail, covered the ship, and poured in between the decks, as if, he says, the great deep had already swallowed us up. A dreadful screaming was heard among the English colonists: the Moravians calmly sung on. Wesley afterwards asked one of them, if he was not afraid at that time. He replied, "I thank God, no." He was then asked if the women and children were not afraid. His answer was, "No; our women and children are not afraid to die." In

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the intervals of fine weather which they enjoyed, Wesley said he could conceive no difference comparable to that between a smooth and a rough sea, except that which is between a mind calmed by the love of God, and one torn up by the storms of earthly passions. On the 5th of February they anchored in the Savannah river.

The colony in Georgia, the last which the English established in North America, had been only three years founded at this time. The British government had encouraged it, with wise political views, as a defence for the southern provinces against the Spaniards, and for the purpose of occupying a critical position which otherwise, there was reason to believe, would have been occupied by the French, to the great danger and detriment of the British settlements: but it had been projected by men of enlarged benevolence, as a means of providing for the employment and well-being of those who were poor and distressed at home. Twenty-one persons were incorporated as trustees for twenty-one years, with power during that time to appoint all the officers, and regulate all the concerns of the colony; and they were authorized to collect subscriptions for fitting out the colonists and supporting them, till they could clear the lands. The trustees contributed money not less liberally than time and labour; the bank subscribed largely, and parliament voted 10,000l. for the advancement of a design which was every way conducive to the interest of the common weal. The first expedition consisted of an hundred and sixteen settlers. James

Oglethorpe, one of the trustees, embarked with them: an active, enterprising, and zealous man. He is said to have taken with him Sir Walter Ralegh's original journals, and to have been guided by them in the choice of a situation for his settlement; and this is confirmed by the tradition of the Indians: their forefathers, they said, had held a conference with a warrior who came over the great waters, and they pointed out a funeral barrow, under which the chief who had conferred with him was buried, by his own desire, in the spot where the conference had been held,

The site of the new settlement was on the banks of the river Savannah, which bends like a sickle in that part: the banks are about forty feet high, and on the top is what in the language of the colonies is called a bluff,-plain high ground, extending about half a mile along the river, and some five or six miles up the country. Ships drawing twelve feet water may ride within ten yards of the shore. In the centre of the plain the town was marked out, opposite an island of rich pasturage. From the key there was a fine prospect of the coast in one direction, and an island called Tybee, in the mouth of the river; on the other the wide stream, bordered with high woods on both sides, glittered in the distance as far as the eye could reach. The country belonged to the Creek Indians: they were computed at this time to amount to about 25,000 souls, war and disease, and the vices of savage life, having greatly reduced their numbers. An Indian woman, who had married a

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trader from Carolina, acted as interpreter between the English and her countrymen; her services were at first purchased with presents, and liberally rewarded afterwards by an annuity of an hundred pounds. Fifty chieftains and elders, from the eight tribes who composed the confederacy of the Creeks, were deputed to confer with Oglethorpe, and treat of an alliance. In the name of these confederated tribes Weecachumpa, the Long Chief, informed the British adventurers what was the extent of country which they claimed as their inheritance: he acknowledged the superiority of the white men to the red: he said they were persuaded that the Great Power, who dwelt in heaven and all around, (and he threw his hands abroad, and prolonged his articulation as he spake,) had sent the English thither for their good, and therefore they were welcome to all the land which the Creeks did not use themselves.

Tomo-chichi, to whose tribe this part of the country belonged, then presented him with a buffalo skin, adorned on the inside with the head and feathers of an eagle. The eagle, he said, signified speed, and the buffalo strength. The English were swift as the eagle, and strong as the buffalo. Like the eagle, they flew over the great waters to the “ uttermost parts of the earth; and like the buffalo, they were so strong that nothing could withstand them. The feathers of the eagle, he said, were soft, and signified love; the skin of the buffalo was warm, and signified protection: therefore he hoped the English would love and protect the little fa

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